CHAPTER 10
Puzzle Fun
Starscream played with the metal rod puzzles first. Wheeljack had given him at least ten new sets, along with those five he had already looked at earlier that day, so there was a lot to do. Some of the puzzles were easy, others were hard, and some were hard at first before becoming easy.
Having played with the puzzles for about an hour, taking them apart and putting them back together, Starscream decided to look at the other things Wheeljack had apparently given him. His gaze fell on the color cube with six sides, nine cells on each side, consisting of six different colors: red, blue, yellow, green, orange and white.
Starscream picked up the cube and examined it closely. It felt weird, solid yet loose in some places. He grabbed a row of cells and twisted it, watching as the row moved to another side. He smiled in understanding. He had to make each side a solid color. Shouldn't be too hard.
Starscream decided to start with red. He moved the pieces around until each red cell was on a single side. His smile widened into a grin. Then fell as he looked at the other sides, still shambled. He hummed. How was he going to make the other sides without screwing up the red side?
He decided to take a risk and just moved the pieces, trying to make a blue side now. Only, when he finished the blue side, he found his red side all screwed up. He sighed in irritation and looked the cube over again.
This time Starscream noticed the corners and edges had two different colors. That probably meant something. The solid blue side he had currently made had its corners and edges all messed up, just like the rest of the cells.
Knowing he wasn't getting anywhere, Starscream turned the rows again, and now noticed the center pieces didn't switch places. He examined the sides more closely. There was one center piece of each color. They didn't switch places when he moved the rows. They were fixed in place. That was definitely a clue.
Starscream decided to make another red side, but this time paying attention to which color the edges and corners were. After a few minutes, he managed to make a solid red side, with each row on the sides next to it in solid colors. He smiled satisfied and turned the row so the edges and corners were on the same sides as the center pieces of each color. This was definitely what he had to do.
His smile quickly fell as he looked over the cubes other sides. He got the placements right, but now he was once again stuck. How was he going to make the rest of the sides without screwing up his work on the red side? Not to mention the apparent orange side opposite of the red side, from what he could tell from the center piece.
Starscream put down the color cube on the desk in front of him and rested his head on his palms, staring at the cube. He wracked his processor, trying to find a way to fix it. He had gotten this far, he couldn't just turn back now. But he had no clue how to fix the other sides.
He sat and stared at the cube for about an hour before deciding he'd save it for tomorrow. A puzzle this difficult needed a good night's rest to think about.
Getting up from his desk, Starscream made his short way over to the berth, but didn't lie down immediately. He looked it over. It certainly seemed more comfortable than the operating table in the medbay. But he was uncertain whether to just lie down, or if he had to press a button or plug in a cable or...
He let out a sigh and decided to just lay down. Recharge couldn't be so complicated that one couldn't just lay down and close their optics. And he was right, falling into recharge was easy enough.
It was getting enough recharge that was the real complication.
"You've really screwed up now, Ironhide," Cliffjumper said, having decided to stay up with the others.
"I said I was sorry, what more do you want from me?" Ironhide replied irritated.
"Don't make promises you can't keep," Cliffjumper replied. "Saying we'll contact his old base! We'd have to find out where the 'Cons' secret bases are!"
"Or we could just call one of our own bases and have them act as if Starscream used to be there," Wheeljack suggested.
"And which base do you suggest we call?" Cliffjumper snarled. "Other than this one and the Ark, we have six different bases on this planet! And one of them is Fortress Maximus!"
"I'm sure we can figure something out," Ironhide said. "We can arrange a meeting with one of them, explain the situation and see if they'll help us out."
"Sure, everyone's gonna be thrilled to help out with Starscream," Cliffjumper said sarcastically. "Even if Prime has told every single Autobot base by now, I doubt any of them would want to take Starscream off our hands. I mean, we can barely tolerate the guy, the only reason we're keeping him here is because we found him!"
"Besides," Ratchet went in, "we can't just make a call or arrange a meeting as simple as that. What if Starscream were to overhear us and find out what we've told him is a lie?"
"Pit, even talking about Starscream finding out we lied is risky," Cliffjumper said and turned to look at the hallway, which for the moment was empty. "One can never know where he is. He's unpredictable, he's dangerous. I'm telling you, this whole amnesia thing is nothing but a charade, a facade. If not on his end, then on ours. We can't keep lying like this, it's not how we Autobots are. We can't keep him here."
"I know what you mean, Cliff," Ironhide replied. "But it's also not the Autobot way to give up on someone just because they're a bit difficult. Optimus wouldn't approve of it, and frankly neither do I."
"Perhaps we don't need to arrange a meeting ourselves," Wheeljack suggested. "We could call Optimus for help. Then he could call the other bases, see who's most willin' to take Starscream in. Then, when the whole thing is figured out, we'll have Starscream meet 'em."
The bots thought on Wheeljack's suggestion.
"Sounds like a decent plan, Jackie," Ironhide replied. "Anyone disagree?"
Nobody seemed to disagree.
"Then let's give the Ark a call."
Starscream stood once again in the middle of a desert, similar to the one he woke up in. He looked around, having a bad feeling. It felt familiar, though he was uncertain why. He did feel like someone was watching him, but he could see no one.
That is, until he looked up.
Above him, just a few dozen meters in the air, a large ship of some kind hovered in the dark blue sky. It was hard to make out any colors or details because of the darkness, but it didn't feel friendly.
Suddenly, a green light appeared from the underside of the ship, seconds after Starscream had spotted it. Starscream looked down and watched as his pedes were lifted from the ground below him. He tried to move but couldn't, getting lifted higher and higher into the air.
He tried to transform. That didn't work either. He tried to lift his arms to access his null-rays. He didn't have the energy to even lift a digit.
Suddenly, Starscream found himself strapped to a table, unable to move any part of his body, not even his digits. He couldn't even turn his head. Every moveable part of his body had been strapped in some way to the table, leaving him completely immobile. He felt exposed and vulnerable in this position, surrounded by darkness, only able to see the table, straps and himself. He had no idea how he had gotten himself into this situation.
Suddenly, a pair of glowing eyes appeared amidst the darkness. Followed by a cold, sinister voice.
"A successful catch. I can't wait to experiment on you."
"Whatever shall we do first?"
"His head! Open his head!"
Starscream stiffened as a screechy metallic noise sounded, and a large buzzsaw appeared just above his head. He stared at the incoming saw, aimed at his forehead.
"No, don't, please!" Starscream shrieked and tried to get free. "Go away! Go away!"
He tried to struggle free, but despite how much he tried, he couldn't even shake the table he was strapped onto. And the buzzsaw kept coming closer, and closer...
"Stop!" Starscream screamed. "STOP! STOOOP!"
The buzzsaw made contact with his helm. Massive pain surged through his head and to the rest of his body.
He screamed.
And sat up.
Starscream threw himself out of berth and grabbed his helm, protecting it from harm. As he lay on the floor, he felt for a wound, but found none.
It had been a dream. Another nightmare.
But he still felt the pain stinging in his head, right where he had his servo. It stung, as if the wound was real.
Slowly, on staggering pedes and servos, Starscream got up and sat on the edge of the berth. He looked around and found a clock placed on the shelf with datapads on it. It said 1:17 AM. Not long after midnight, just like last night.
Starscream rubbed his servos down his face, trying to shake the nightmare off. It had been way more graphic than the last one. And with another monster lurking in the shadows. Or, more monsters, he remembered three voices from the dream.
Starscream looked down at the berth. He was tired, but he didn't want to go back to sleep. Not yet, at least.
Someone knocked on the door. Starscream winced, but quickly shook it off.
"Yes?" he called quietly.
The door slid aside and revealed Wheeljack behind it. He didn't seem like he had just woken up. He was on nightwatch duty, after all.
"Hey, uh, you okay in there?" Wheeljack asked. "I heard some screamin' comin' from here. You have another nightmare?"
Starscream, still trying to calm down from the nightmare, nodded slightly.
"You... wanna... talk about it?" Wheeljack asked and crossed his arms.
Starscream shook his head. "No, it's fine," he said quietly. "I'm over it now."
"Alright."
Wheeljack didn't leave the room right away. He looked away and scratched the back of his helm shyly. He glanced back at Starscream, who also looked away.
"You, uh, you want me to stay?" Wheeljack asked uncertain. "Til you fall asleep?"
Starscream tapped his legs with his talons, looking anywhere but at Wheeljack. "Maybe," he replied. "If you must."
Wheeljack took it as a yes and stepped inside the room, but didn't approach the Seeker further, nor did he close the door. He leaned against a wall and glanced at the desk.
"So, I see you've been busy there," Wheeljack commented on the metal puzzles and the not-so-fixed color cube. "You like the puzzles I put in here?"
Starscream hummed. "They're kind of fun, I guess," he replied. "But I'm sort of stuck on the cube."
Wheeljack hummed in understanding and crossed his arms. "Ah yes, it's the ultimate test of puzzle-solving. It takes a great and flexible mind to solve such a complex puzzle. You're already well on your way, I see."
"But how am I supposed to find out how to make all the sides one color without messing up the one I've already made?" Starscream asked with a sigh.
"That's for you to find out," Wheeljack replied and winked at the Seeker. "Wouldn't be a puzzle if I just gave you the answer, now would it?"
"You know the answer?"
"I'm telling you, if you figure it out on your own, you'll feel much better about yourself than if you have someone else explain it to you. Even if most people can't solve it without help."
Starscream's optics widened. "It's that hard to solve? Can anyone solve it without help from others?"
"Yeah, but it's pretty few. You could say those who can are pretty special folks. And people really admire them for their ingenuity and integrity. Learning to fix it by using help from others, well, it is the easier way, but it also makes you feel like a cheater, and once you've learned what to do, you can't go back. You will forever have to fix the cube, knowing you needed help to do it, just like everyone else. But hey, nothin' wrong with bein' normal, huh? ...Starscream?"
Starscream's optics were closed, and a small snore sounded from him. He was still sitting upright, but he was sound asleep. Wheeljack smiled under his mask.
Should he lay him down on the berth? Provide a more comfortable position? Wheeljack didn't want to disturb him, he seemed like he didn't get enough rest. Touching him would probably just wake him up again.
Wheeljack decided to leave him be and carefully tiptoed out of the room. He was unsure whether to leave the door open or close it, as it couldn't be closed quietly and might wake him up again.
Not wanting to wake the Seeker up, Wheeljack decided to leave the door open. Then he could at least hear if he was having another nightmare throughout the night. He left the room and returned to the command center, sat down by his work table and started tinkering with his newest invention, all alone and undisturbed.
Until a thought came to mind. One he had thought about since his conversation with Starscream earlier that evening.
Inspired, Wheeljack shoved his invention aside and started working on something new. Something that definitely would help with the Autobots' current situation.
